"It is always a joy for me to meets an American..." So said Sherlock Holmes in The Noble bachelor, no doubt echoing the views of his creator. And certainly these are sentiments that I share also. Through my involvement with the world of Sherlock Holmes and crime fiction I have met a good number of Americans and I have encountered courtesy, good fellowship and kindness... 

Contents

1. NEWS AND VIEWS
2. MYSTERY: CAUGHT IN THE WEB 
   Bob Byrne rounds up the best of the detective fiction on the Net
3. MURDER ROOMS 
   An assessment of The Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes by Roger Johnson
4. CANONICAL INTRODUCTIONS 
   First published in the Strand in August 1904, this is an introduction to The Missing Three Quarter
5. REMEMBERING JEREMY BRETT 
   Part one of David Stuart Davies’ retrospective of Jeremy Brett
6. BODY OF EVIDENCE 
   Calum McLeod discusses the work of contemporary crime writers Martyn Waites and Andrea Badenoch
7. SHERLOCK STATESIDE 
   Pat Ward with the latest from the USA
8. THE OTHER DETECTIVES 
   Paul M Chapman goes Dutch with Piet van der Valk
9. UNMASKING MORIARTY 
   David Stuart Davies reveals the truth about the criminal mastermind
10. CURTAIN UP ON CHRISTIE 
    Jared Cade visitts the Christie Theatre Festival
11. HOLMES OFF THE CUFF 
    John Hall on the bonding of Holmes and Watson
12. IT’S IMPOSSIBLE 
    A Harry Devlin story by Martin Edwards, illustrated by Chris Senior
13. HOLMES OF THE MOVIES 
    David Stuart Davies watches 1994 Baker Street: Sherlock Holmes Returns starring Anthony Higgins
14. SLEUTHING THE SHELVES 
    Our regular look at new crime fiction books
15. UNDER THE GASLIGHT 
    Roger Forsdyke visits Scotland Yard in his regular column on Victorian crime and criminals
16. TELLY ’TECS 
    Cristian Matthews takes a view of Inspector Rebus played by John Hannah
17. PICK OF THE POIROTS
    Jared Cade draws the Curtain on this series with an apt look at the Belgian detective’s final case
18. THE CRUEL CASE BOOK 
    Alan Perry looks at the nasty side of Sherlock Holmes
19. GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER 
    Mike Ripley discusses the comedy of crime writing
20. SOCIETIES FORUM 
    Conducted by Roger Johnson with a spotlight on The Hounds of the Internet by Bill Barnes
21. MORIARTY’S MUTTERINGS